The Penny Black — Restaurant in Melbourne

The Penny Black is an interesting place. It's technically a pub, but at night it comes alive into a dark, wondrous beast.

Unfortunately, I didn't try out any of the food they had which seems reasonably priced and the menu had a decent selection.

They have $12 specials such as a parma on Monday, $12 steaks on Wednesday and $12 roast on Sunday. Tasty bites (I would hope anyway) to keep in mind if you're in the area. It's good value for those sorts of meals.

The atmosphere is quite friendly, so you always feel comfortable, it's a good place to go to with friends. In saying that, if you come at night (on a weekend) and you're male, depending on the time you go in, if you haven't got a few female friends with you (as the security guards repeated several times to many guys), you're not going to get in (which is a strange requirement for a pub, even if you're invited to an event such as a birthday). Even more so after it hits midnight which is the time I left, the line is quite long. To skip the queue, go before 10 PM.

Another factor which might discourage a few is for those of you who can't stand smoke, I would advise to avoid the outside area (beer garden) at the back. It's where most people are, but it becomes a mushroom cloud. So if you don't mind breathing in smoke for the good part of 2-3 hours, it's best avoided. That's where the DJ resides as well.

The Penny Black is nothing too far out of the ordinary, you will enjoy yourself with a...

Came here for a dinner with a group of friends. Staff are mostly accommodating and friendly and helped us secure seating in the beer garden for the large group.

Tap selection is okay, standout being the ginger beer, but not really to my personal tastes. There seems to be a disconnect between the front and back bars. Asked for a cocktail menu and was told they do all the classics, so tried to order a mojito at the back bar and was told that it wasn't included. Props to the female bartender at the front bar, when we tried to order there they did make us a mojito and delivered it to our table.

The ambiance was kinda odd and not really a place to be if you want to just chat. They had a DJ playing trap and Dubstep quite loudly in the beer garden which wasn't really a vibe, but the DJ was having a fun time I suppose. The front bar had a 90s cover band which was more our vibe, but wasn't a place to chat with the band being the key entertainment (too loud for conversations).

Overall, the above might not be an issue for most, but personally not...

So many issues! No wonder its lost customers and dead quiet these days. It has always been a bit of a dive but now its just something to avoid. Bar staff are uni students who don’t care (beer glasses still hot from the wash/beers with no foam/flute had lipstick on it/negroni was watered down and no garnish but black ash sediment in the bottom). Georga and Jason having a laugh while customers wait, then indifferent and rude like we bothered them (felt ganged up on when we had legitimate concerns). And they want to charge $17 for 2 dips (no larger than 50c coins) and bread! The two South African boys (one shaved, one with long hear) out the back were the only redeeming factor that lifts this from 0/5 to 1/5 but I think they’ve left. If Jason and Georgia are running the show im not surprise its declined to where it is. Do yourself a favour and go either to the Retreat or Brunswick Greens – at least youll have clean glasses, no bar flies and no questionable puddles on the...